The 57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Weapons Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to deploy into a combat arena to conduct integrated combat operations.

Mission

The 57 WG is home to one of the most demanding advanced air combat training mission in the world. The wing provides training for composite strike forces which include every type of aircraft in the Air Force inventory. Training is conducted in conjunction with air and ground units of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and air forces from US allied nations. The crews do not come to learn how to fly, but instead learn how to be combat aviators.[edit] Units

The wing was reorganized in 2005 to reflect its current structure. It consists of four groups and two direct reporting units to the wing:

* 57th Operations Group (57 OG)

A non-flying unit, the 57 OG provides direct oversight of the Nellis flying mission through the 57th Operations Support Squadron

* 57th Adversary Tactics Group (57 ATG) (tail code: WA)

Established in July 2005, the 57th ATG consists of Aggressor squadrons that replicate adversary threat tactics while training combat air forces aircrews.

Composed of 16 squadrons, the U.S. Air Force Weapons School teaches graduate-level instructor courses that provide the world's most advanced training in weapons and tactics employment to officers of the combat air forces.

* United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron - The Thunderbirds

"America's Ambassadors in Blue," the Thunderbirds have performed for more than 300 million people in all 50 states and 60 countries around the world.

* United States Air Force Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Officers School

Provides graduate-level instruction to maintenance and munitions officers in the USAF distinctive capability of Agile Combat Support (ACS).

The Thunderbirds and the USAF Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Officer School report directly to the 57th Wing commander.[edit] History[edit] Lineage

*Note: The 57th Fighter Wing (Provisional) was established on 16 Apr 1947 at Fort Richardson, Alaska as one of the "Base-Wing" concept provisional Table of Distribution (T/D) organizations. The provisional wing was inactivated and replaced by the 57th Fighter Wing in March 1948 (exact date unknown).[edit] Assignments

Established on 15 March 1948, the 57th Fighter Wing replaced 57th Fighter Wing (Provisional) in Apr 1948. It operated Elmendorf AFB, Alaska , and several satellite bases, and provided air defense of Alaska, Apr 1948-Dec 1950. In addition, the wing provided intra-theater troop carrier and airlift support, 1948-1950, using several attached troop carrier squadrons. In Jan 1951, it was replaced by 39th Air Depot Wing.

The 57th moved to Nevada and replaced the 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, in October 1969. At Nellis, it trained tactical fighter aircrews, conducted operational tests and evaluations, demonstrated tactical fighter weapon systems, and developed fighter tactics and from February 1970 to October 1979 and operated Nellis AFB for all base tenants. The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (the "Thunderbirds") was assigned to the wing in February 1974 and has remained an integral part of the wing to present. The 57th assumed operational control of "Red Flag" exercises in October 1979; developing realistic combat training operations featuring adversary tactics, dissimilar air combat training, and electronic warfare. It incorporated intelligence training after March 1980. In 1990 the aggressor mission transferred to 4440th TFTG and later to the 414th CTS. The wing added instruction in hunter/killer counter electronic warfare tactics until 1996.[edit] Post Cold War

From 19921999, the wing operated detachments at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, and Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana that flew and tested the F-111, B-1, and B-52 respectively. It added the 66th Rescue Squadron, equipped with HH-60 helicopters, on February 1, 1993 while the squadron was deployed in Southwest Asia. From 1991 to present, the 57th provided combat aircrew capabilities, operating the USAF Weapons and the USAF Combat Rescue Schools, developing techniques and procedures and conducting operational test and evaluation on all major aircraft in the AF inventory.

With the reactivation of the 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base on May 1, 2007, the elements that comprised the 57th Operations Group, were transferred to the 432nd Wing along with the 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.